No Republicans?

By BEN SMITH

12/14/2010 09:48 AM EST

It says something about the political moment that the elites hungering for a post-partisan movement are on the center-left, something Byron York notes today off the "No Labels" conference, and that I noticed as well:

The event's broad cultural cast was difficult to miss. Two panels were hosted by MSNBC anchors, first Morning Joe's Joe Scarborough - who argued against West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin that members of Congress should settle into Beltway life and move their families to Washington - and Mika Brzezinski; and then Dylan Ratigan. (This didn't prevent Booker from imploring the American people to get off their couches and "looking at MSNBC or Fox screaming and yelling." No Fox hosts were present.)

My editor thought it was overkill to point out another cultural indicator (but hey, it's my blog): The vegetarian and chicken sandwiches were rapidly devoured at lunch time, leaving only a giant pile of roast beef.

York also notes that the group's theme song, by AKON (who skipped out on the actual event), features clips from noted bipartisans Barack Obama and John F. Kennedy, as well as Martin Luther King. The representative Republican president is Abraham Lincoln.